


The One That Got Away

by Red_Dead



Series: No Strings Attached [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Body Horror, Gore, M/M, Military AU, Sex, Torture, klance, lowaharts, voltron military au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-08-29 17:43:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8499235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Dead/pseuds/Red_Dead
Summary: Once again, a warning before the story really starts.All Characters are 18 and up. This chapter has moments that may trigger people. Read more in Chapter 1 for more warnings.Keith's mistake comes back to bite him. Those caught in the chain reaction shows how much one snafu can cause so much damage.





	1. Warning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lowaharts](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=lowaharts).



This is a warning.

There is blood, death, gore,missing limbs, rough sex, tortrue and Anger. 

Who and what I can not say.

This is a sequel to "No Strings Attached." Which you can read here.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8446318

Once again, this story is based on Lowaharts Voltron Military Au. Please go to her tumblr and follow and support her. 

http://lowaharts.tumblr.com/


	2. The One That Got Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please Enjoy and Comments are loved.

The One That Got Away

Keith nursed his bruised knuckles as he glanced around the mission room. Black was talking about some future mission Keith was not interested in. Gold was writing down every detail in his book, his tongue sticking out in the process. Green tapped away at her computer, already way ahead of the conversation and planning the details out and all the risks involved. Blue wasn’t in the room or at least Keith thought he wasn’t. Like his job, Blue did things at a distance, just not in silence. 

Keith only became aware Blue was there at all, when he spoke, breaking Black’s speech. It was sharp, witty and all Lance. 

“And you expect us to pick the rest of the slack? We are already stretched thin and supplies are running low. This is just shy of a suicide mission, I don’t know about you guys, but I kinda like living right now.” Blue leaned on the door frame, a deep frown on his face as he glared at Black. Shiro set his jaw tight, not letting his anger show in front of the others. Red couldn’t help but hide a smile underneath his bruised hand, he knew Shiro would lay into the sniper for his outburst. 

“I know that Blue, which is why next week's mission is crucial. We take Zarkon’s supply train and…” The Sniper turned, ignoring any other words Black had to say, this caused Gold to place his pen down and turn towards the challenging soldier.

“Blue, look, we know the risks….” Gold sighed, seeing Blue had left, leaving the bigger man to get up and walk out after him. He gave an apologetic look towards Black as he left. Green just rested knuckles on her cheek, rolling her eyes. Red watched as Black let out a heavy breath, placing the mission plans down on the table. 

Keith was at a total loss. He was in shock that Shiro would let someone like Lance get away with an outburst like that. There was always some kind of strange interaction between Black and Blue that left tension in the room, but this, this was something else. 

“Would someone please tell me what the hell that was about?” Keith had never seen a mission briefing go south so fast and for the head of the said mission just to shut down like he did. Keith may have only joined Voltron Force a month ago, but he knew this wasn’t how mission briefings were supposed to go.

Shiro walked around the table, taking his spot on it and sitting. Green stood up, closing her laptop, she glanced over at Red, giving a shy smile. The Hacker had been there long before Keith, so he assumed the woman knew the history between the Commander and the Sniper.

“Welp, I think it's time for me to leave and for Black here to tell you what Blue’s problem is. You two have a good chat, I’m going to go find the Princess.” Green walked away, leaving the two men to talk alone in the mission room.

Shiro looked tired, Keith could see it and if Keith could see it, so did everyone else in that room. He got up and made his way over to the table, sitting down next to his disrespected leader on the table. 

“This is my fault, isn’t it Shiro? It’s because I let that guy get away, I put more pressure on the team…” Keith looked down at the ground, remembering the look in Shiro’s eyes when he had slammed him into the wall five days ago. What Keith thought was anger, really was fear. Shiro leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs, the look of guilt marred his youthful appearance. 

“No, it’s not your fault Keith…” Shiro let his shoulders sag, thinking of what to say to Keith. “But it doesn't help that the target got away...again…”

Keith tried to hide his shock, but Shiro caught it and smiled. Keith leaned back, kicking his feet thinking.

“Again huh...what happened last time?” Keith didn’t know if he wanted to know the answer. Keith had an idea, after all, he did hear rumors. “This have anything to do with the dead agent?”

Shiro’s silence was right on the mark. Keith’s brother figure ran a hand through his hair, his eyes full of guilt.

“Before you received the title of “Red”, it used to belong to Lance.... I was given a mission to command on my first day on the job. It was supposed to be an in and out job. Sniper and Assassin…” Shiro leaned back, breathing in a deep breath. “Similar to what you and Blue should be…”

“Who was the original Blue?” Keith heard of an assassin before him getting killed in action. He didn’t really pay attention to the details, other than he was the replacement. He watched as the man he grew up with, the man who trained him, look lost.

“She was a girl who’s real name I did not know, but Blue...Lance used to call her Mermaid. They came into Voltron as a team already...” Shiro let out a laugh, thinking about her like the two were good friends. “Lance gave her that nickname, because he saw her as a Siren dragging men to their deaths with her beautiful looks.”

Keith was starting to figure out where this was going. It wasn’t uncommon for people to get killed in action. Sometimes it was at the fault of the person, sometimes the fault of the commander and sometimes accidents happen. Keith had heard it was intel that failed, that resulted in the death of the Assassin. That the blame was set on Black and the Princess for the Mission Failure. Not the agents on the ground.

Voltron Force was placed on leave for two month. It was more for damage control and recruitment for someone to fill the slot. He remembered Shiro showing up at his door and asking him if Keith didn’t mind being transferred to his special unit. Keith took the job because he had always wanted to work with Shiro for years. He just didn’t know the reason behind it until now. 

At the moment, he now knew why Shiro let Lance slide on things others would question. It was because Shiro felt guilty for getting the original Blue getting killed, leaving the Sniper to discard the titled Red and change it to Blue.

“What happened…” Keith knew what happened. She was dead, that all there really was. He knew Shiro messed up, just at the time he didn’t believe it. He just assumed it was the failure of the ground Agents. 

Shiro knew that was going to come up, so he just went out with it.

“The mission didn’t feel right with Blue and Red. They voiced their thoughts to the Princess and Myself...but we didn’t listen. Green said all the risks evaluations were clear.Gold said all coms were covered and pathways clear..but they were not...It was an ambush. Red was compromised and he had to escape. Blue on the other hand...We thought Mermaid made it out, but…” Shiro didn’t want to go any further. “You would probably get more from Lance, because beyond that, it's not my place to share…” 

“And that’s why Blue gets more say in the missions then, huh.” Keith didn’t like that idea. Lance pulling the strings behind the scenes, once again at a distance. He also didn’t like the idea of asking Lance about his past teammate. For one, he didn’t really care. Shiro could see something going on in Keith’s head, but he wasn’t sure what it was.

“I value his insight a lot more then I used to. Unlike you two, I’m not out there with you like I used to be. I’m behind concrete walls, barking orders behind a computer system.” Keith didn’t like that answer from Shiro at all, leaving the older man to smile. “What?”

“You are more...you are more than you think you are Shiro. If it wasn't for you, I’d be fighting on the other side. I’d probably be dead...People make mistakes. They happen.” Keith motioned to his arm where the Sniper had nicked him, letting Shiro laugh at that.  
“ Look at me, I made a mistake a few days ago and it could have killed me. I’m not letting it get to me.” Keith kept his mouth shut about the incident between him and Lance and the blackmail sex. 

Then it dawned on Keith and anger quickly took over. He just kept his outer appearance the same and swallowed hard. Lance was more than just two steps ahead, he probably set up this whole thing up in revenge on Shiro, via Keith. The rage was taking over in the slowest burn Keith could make possible. No strings attached was going to be all it was with Keith from here on out.

“Thanks Keith...I’ve just been...next time, I won’t let Blue slide.” Shiro cheered up a bit at that, laughing. “Who would have thought, my younger brother giving me a pep talk.”

Keith slightly punched Shiro in the right arm, causing the older man to rub it in fake pain. Shiro got up, leaving Keith to grab the mission papers. Shiro glanced over at Keith, smiling.

“You coming or…?”

Keith needed to calm down, if he moved, he would have lost it. He brought the paper to his face and started to read it.

“I’ll be out in a minute, I want to go over this first before next week.” Keith was hoping Shiro would buy the act and not see the fire raging inside of him. Whatever Shiro did see, he kept his mouth shut, figuring Keith would tell him eventually, he normally did.

“Okay, see you later tonight Keith.” Shiro left the room, leaving Keith to grab the closest thing to him and tossing it at the wall. Poor stapler. 

He started counting, breathing, clearing out his mind. 

The Sniper was in his radar and now he had regretted not killing Lance when he had the chance in the bastards apartment. He just remained seated, letting the rage quell, his heartbeat returned to normal. It was then he got up and left the room.

**** 

Lance drank his Carpi Sun, sucking on that yellow straw in passing anger. His friend Gold, aka Hunk, sat next to him. The bigger man reached an arm over and pulled the sluking brunnet over to him. 

“You know Lance, he’s only going to let you slide so much, before Black pushes you back and places you on paid leave.”

Lance laughed, it was dark and mischievous. It caused Hunk to worry about his friend.

“Good, let him pay me not to kill people, I’d like that.” Lance leaned heavily onto Hunk, sucking the packet dry. “Besides, if they don’t want me, someone else can buy me…”

With that, Hunk gave Lance a tight squeeze, leaving the sniper at the mercy of the strong man. Lance struggled a bit, trying to get out of it, but Hunk didn’t let go. 

“You listen to me Lance, I’m getting tired of your self destructive nature...You're getting out of hand. I need to know I can trust you…” Hunk relaxed his grip, leaving Lance to stop fighting and just relax. Hunk’s words were sinking in.

“You can trust me Hunk...I’m just mad that Black brought in his little pet project onto the team…” The Sniper flicked at the cloth on Hunk’s arm, whatever anger was there, seemed to dissipate. “I guess I can only be angry for so long before I fuck up, right?”

Oh and did Lance fuck up. He fucked up hard by letting his anger get the best of him and target someone who didn’t need his anger. He fucked up on Keith, while getting fucked by him, but that’s a mute point now. He made his bed, might as well sleep in it.

“So...wanna go watch a movie?” Hunk knew what to say to get Lance out of his slump. The darkness faded away from his eyes and real joy shined through.

“Hunk, my man, you get me. What do you want to watch?” Lance leaned forward, enjoying the small talk Gold could bring out in him. The type of talk that brought out normalcy in the mad world they live in.

***

Green sat, tapping away at her computer. A soft hand rested on her shoulder as she looked behind her, jumping slightly from the disturbance. A woman with white hair looked down at her. Her white locks danced around her dark skin, her smile so bright it almost blinded the Hacker. 

“Oh, Allura! You are still here…” Green turned away from her laptop, her short red hair pulled back into a ponytail.

“Shouldn’t you be going home Pidge? It’s getting late?”

Pidge smiled at her Princess. The leader of the Freedom Fighter group called Voltron. The electronic specialist adjusted her glasses, a look of concern on her face. 

“I just got the video file from the last mission and I wanted to go over it before I left….It’s just..something is off..I’m not sure what it is…” Pidge scooted over, letting the Princess have a seat right next to her. Allura watched the video footage Pidge was currently looking over. “I can’t help but worry Red might have been compromised. Like, our target might have seen his face during his escape.”

“Are you sure?” The two watched the video Blue had recorded during the mission. From the scopes vision, a dust cloud from the impact of the bullet hitting the wall. A turned face, a thrown off assassin, a failed attempt to even decipher what they saw. “I think I’ll contact Red...I’ll let Black know too.”

Allura bit her lip, not liking the idea that her team could be in danger. 

“It’s better to be safe than sorry.” Pidge let her golden brown eyes rest on Allura’s aqua blues. “I just don’t want to lose anyone else is all…”

Allura nodded, pulling out her cell phone and calling whomever would pick up first. The Princess had hoped Green was just being paranoid.

**** 

 

Keith opened his apartment door, letting the days revelations wash over him that Lance was using him in some kind of fucked up way. With what really, he didn’t know, but something told him it had to with Shiro and a dead Agent nicknamed Mermaid. 

Keith made his way over to his fridge and opened it up, grabbing two beers and slamming the door. He moved quickly to the couch, plopping down into the soft seating and propping his feet up on the table. With the pull of the tab, he cracked opened his beer and chugged away. In that moment, Keith stopped and looked at his near empty drink.

“What the fuck?” Something wasn’t right. His beer tasted strange, it was salty. He raised an eyebrow at it, looking at the expiration date. The date was far from expiration, so that wasn’t it. He gave a heavy sigh, setting the half finished beer on the table. “Can’t even have a decent beer anymore these days…”

The sound of his cellphone vibrated in his jacket pocket. He reached in, pulling out the device. On the lock screen, a name glowed at him “Takashi Shirogane”. He went to swipe the phone to answer the call, but his finger missed the simple button. Keith started to feel dizzy. It was then something dawned on him as he looked at his beer. It was tainted.

The look of panic overtook him as he stood up, only for the world around him to start spinning. He quickly shoved his finger down his throat to induce vomiting, to try and purge the substance from his system. Part of him knew it was a loss cause, but damn it he was going to try.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught someone charging for him with a bat in hand. Keith, in his spinning world, was able to avoid the swing, leaning back and away. He rolled, before righting himself. 

He focused on the taste of vomit in his mouth, it was something to keep him grounded. With blurry eyes, he stood tall, forcing his body into a fighting stance. He gritted his teeth when he saw the man before him. It was the target, Paxis, Zarkon’s 6th in command of the Galra Empire. 

The one that got away.

“You are a stubborn one, aren't you?” Paxis walked around the room, getting closer, causing Keith to slowly back up. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you….”

Keith narrowed his eyes. He was not going to let this bastard get to him. Keith ignored the heaviness in his arms, the dragging of his feet. Paxis stopped, not getting closer. The look he was something that made Keith’s skin crawl. He placed the bat down and pulled out a stun gun.

“I tire of this game.” He fired, the three pronged item latched onto Keith’s chest, cutting into his skin and sending shocking volts throughout his system.

Keith let out a scream, before hitting the ground. The combination of the unknown substance in his body and the shock, did a number on him. He found the prongs, fighting the locking muscle gun and pulled. His vision started to waver on him.

Keith didn’t have time to recover, as Paxis was there before he knew it. The bat swung, connecting with Keith’s back, knocking the wind out of him. Keith’s hands dropped, as he gazed up at Paxis. His world, falling to the darkness. The last thing he saw, the last thing he heard, was Paxis. His words, chilling him to the bone.

“Another Agent for me to play with.”

And then there was nothing.

*** 

“Keith’s not picking up Allura, that’s not like him with me.” Shiro ran up the stairs up to Keith’s apartment. There was fear in his voice as he talked to Allura over his phone. “If headquarters got their head out of their asses, we would have had the video the day after the mission. Don’t tell me to stop being so paranoid…”

Shiro said that with more bite he than intended to, but he was pissed. Not at Allura, no, he was just upset that they didn’t have all the cards on the table. 

Sweat was just starting to bead down his face, as he made his way to the entrance of Keith’s floor. He pushed open the door, making his way to apartment number 305 B. He tested the doorknob, before knocking. 

Shiro was huffing, catching his breath. There was no response. Shiro ran his hand through his sweaty hair. He was trying to think of something else, that Keith was just asleep and ignored the calls. This all could have been Pidge just being extra cautious and looking out for everyone. 

“I’m getting nothing Allura...Hang on, I know where a spare key is...He walked over to the fire exit window, removing a fake brick from the wall. He smiled when he found the spare key, still in the same place he left it last time. He pulled it out and replaced the fake brick before heading back to Keith’s apartment. “I swear Allura, if he’s just sleeping, I’m gonna feel like an idiot…”

Shiro knocked one last time, before placing the key into the keyhole. With a rushed “click” and a “clack” Shiro froze. He heard a pin drop, his heart dropped, a roaring pain engulfed him in a blinding light. 

***

Allura pulled the cell phone away from her ear. The loud noise was a shock to her. Her eyes widened as she pressed down the the accelerator of her car. She put the cell phone back to her ear, yelling into it.

“SHIRO! What happened? Shiro?” All the Princess got in return, was the sound of something burning. She narrowed her eyes, hanging up before calling another number. “Coran, issue a Code Nocturne! I need you to have medical aide prepared. I don’t know how many are wounded or…”

Allura came upon the scene in horror. Keith’s apartment windows were blown out, smoke bellowing out in dark clouds. She quickly parked her car, leaving it running as she sprinted out. Her normally kept hair, knocked loose by her frantic running, passing by apartment residents, whom were just innocent victims for her faults as top command. She pushed passed them, making her way to the third floor. She pushed the door open. 

The smell, the heat, the noise. It all hit her the moment she opened the door. She scanned the hallway, her blue eyes being stung by the smoke that sweeped by. She moved forward, her legs shaking and she stopped. 

For a moment, everything froze for her as she saw a right arm, not attached to a body. The limb was familiar, to familiar for her to even fathom the thought. She ran forward, ignoring the dangers.

“Shiro!” Allura ran to an unmoving body, fear being overwritten with anger and a mixture of hope. She leaned down, seeing slight breathing escaping Shiro’s lips. With quick thinking, Allura pulled off Shiro’s belt, pulling it up to what was left of his right arm. Making a loop, Allura fashioned a makeshift tourniquet, pulling hard to stop the heavy flow. 

A loud cry escaped from the man’s lips. His face bloodied as his eyes shot open. A jagged wound cut across the bridge of his nose, just missing his eyes. His body was going numb again, he was just vaguely aware what was going on around him. Allura was there. He couldn’t figure it out why, nor could he understand what she was trying to tell him. It was just all ringing around him, then everything started moving.

Allura, found something deep inside herself, the strength to lift the man in her arms and carry him to the exit. She gritted her teeth, as Shiro’s head lulled back into the crevice of her neck. His panting breath’s growing weaker, quicker. Her long white hair, was getting stained a deep crimson. She pushed the door open, running into people from the upper floors coming down. A man saw Allura in her distressed state, grabbing Shiro from her grip and helping lead the way down. 

Allura was scared and longed for her father, the King would have never allowed this. She followed close behind, confused and lost. How could have something like this happen. What went wrong. What could she have done to prevent it. 

What seemed like forever for Allura, they reached the ground level. The man that helped carry Shiro down, placed him on a gurney and left, being lost in the craze of the crowd. Two paramedics quickly grabbed the wounded man and loaded him up in an ambulance. Allura followed, jumping in the back with them as they closed the doors behind them. Giving a hasty lie that she was his wife, shouting out his blood type and allergies. 

Allura sat back, letting the professionals take over. The Princess sat down, in a daze. When her mind started to clear, did she look over at a deathly pale Shiro. He went to check on Keith, who hadn’t contacted him. 

It became painfully aware that Keith was compromised and this was the result. Fear started to pick at her mind at the thought Keith might have been in his apartment when the bomb went off. 

She lowered her face in her hands and cried. If Shiro looked like this, there would be no chance for Keith. She swallowed hard, breathing in a deep breath before righting her posture. 

Allura pulled out her phone, taking calm and steady breaths. Her eyes on the people working on Shiro, too preoccupied to listen to the conversation.

“Orange, it’s Princess. I have Black. Red is missing, he might still be inside. Send Gold in to investigate on scene. Get Green to look at the camera’s in the area. Place Blue on stand by. I’ll be at base as soon as I can.”

Allura hung up, her eyes heavy with sadness. She gave tired sigh, as Shiro laid motionless, the monitor giving an all to irregular heartbeat. Allura had hoped she hadn’t lost another member of her team. She had hoped Shiro wouldn’t have to bury his little brother.

****

Lance quickly shoved a firefighter's uniform into Hunk’s hands. Both men's normally tan and dark complexions, faded a few shades from the news that rang from their phones.

“Black will be fine Lance, don’t worry so much...and Red…” Hunk wasn’t sure what to say about Red. He didn’t know Keith as well as he knew Shiro, but he was still a part of Voltron. “ I’ll explore the apartment.”

Lance pressed his lips into a deep frown, his arms crossed as Hunk started to dress down for the search and hopefully rescue of Red. No, Lance didn’t feel worried, he was just pissed.

“I’m not sure what’s going on Hunk, but be careful, that might not be the only trap in there. I don’t need you to die looking for charred remains. Get in, get out.” Lance watched and Hunk nodded, shoving the firefighter helmet on his head, before getting out of a white van. 

Gold turned around, watching as Lance closed the door behind him. The white van revved up, leaving the area to make it to headquarters where Blue had his own mission to attend to.

Gold started walking, blending in with the other firefighter as they worked to extinguish the flames. He lifted his finger up to his ear and turned on his communicator.

“Gold to Green, do you copy.” Hunk walked up the first flight of stairs before hearing a reply back. He gave a shaky sigh as he spoke again. “Copy, camera is on.”

Hunk easily made it to the third floor, walking carefully so not to fall through the damaged flooring. He approached the place that was once, apparently Red’s home. Hunk had to hold back the vomit in this throat as he saw a limb lay discarded on the floor. The smell of blood and burnt skin didn’t help much as he pushed passed the thought of Black dieing and Red gone. 

Gold looked around, where the door once was, a gaping hole in its place. His eyes scanned the surface area, seeing that was the main starting point of the explosion. The patterns on the wall, looked familiar. 

“Gold to Green. It looks like the door was rigged to a grenade…” His eyes scanned over to the kitchen, where a gas stove was blown to pieces. “When the door was triggered, it set off a chain reaction to a gas stove….Who ever left this, didn’t want anyone to survive.”

Gold walked with great care, hearing the ground below him crunch as he made his way over to the bedroom. With each room he looked, Hunk was growing more and more at ease, knowing that Red might not have been home when the destruction happened. With one last look around, Hunk left the ruined apartment and stood outside in the smoldering hallway.

“Gold to Green. No body. Repeat, No body. Red is not here…” Hunk took a deep breath, before glancing around him, making sure no one was watching. Gold reached down, picking up the limb off the ground and placing it in a black plastic bag. He gagged, holding back the vomit in his throat and swallowing it back. The after taste of popcorn and soda was the last thing he wanted.

“Gold to Green. I’m coming home.”

*** 

Green let the glow of her multiple computers be the only light source in the room. Her glasses reflecting the multiple videos in the area. Each one, could tell a story of what happened to Red and where he might be now. All she had to do was try and find him.

She turned to her left, a cell phone tracking system pinging off from one location to another, trying to pinpoint the Assassins last known whereabouts. Green lifted both hands off her computers, pulling at her hair and shaking herself awake. 

“Come on Pidge, you got this...All you need to do is find the needle in the damn haystack.” Green spoke to herself, biting her thumb. The door behind her, flooded the dark room with light. Pidge let her worry fade away when a USB card was tossed to her. “Thank you Orange. I didn’t even know you entered the building.”

Coran pulled a laptop away from Green, causing the girl to bite back her tongue so she wouldn’t lash out at the person who out ranked her by years and experience. The old man started clicking away, watching the screen before him.

“The USB contains video footage of the Apartment Complex. I already tried watching it, but it’s been corrupted and not by the fire…” Orange leaned forward, enlarging a picture, he leaned back again, upset what he saw on the feed. “Nothing…”

Green started working on the USB, her fingers couldn’t move fast enough. She worked in silence, before she saw something that made her have an “ah ha” moment.

“This file...it had an online feed and IP address…” Pidge saw Coran nod out of the corner of her eye. Anger started to naw at her again. She clenched her fist, letting the new rage take over. “This bastard was watching...it could have been anyone who opened that door…”

Orange kept going through feed after feed, before his eye finally caught something. He enlarged it, once again, finding nothing. He snapped his head when he heard Green’s cry for joy.

“Alright! I got it!” Pidge rewound the footage, going back to where she saw Keith, entering his floor and walking into his apartment. Coran joined her, looking over her shoulder. After a while, the apartment door opened, catching in image of a man carrying Keith’s uncouse body out of the room. Both Coran and Pidge paled.

“Paxis…” Coran got up and punched the table. He swallowed hard as he thought of what he had to do next. “I must tell the Princess. Green do you think…”

“Already on it! Tracking the IP address as we speak…” Pidge was left to her own devices, saving her blessings that Paxis wasn’t as good as he thought he was with computers. 

Coran quickly walked out of the room, he loosened his tie as his heavy feet echoed in the hallway. The look of guilt on his face as he punched numbers into his phone.

“Princess. Red was taken by Paxis...I’m getting Blue and Gold on it right away…” Coran hung up the phone, trying hard to control the thoughts in his head. “What have I done…”

****

The Princess waited outside of the surgery waiting room, hearing the news Coran had to share. It wasn’t good news. 

“Do we have any idea where we his hideouts are?” Allura leaned back in chair, getting worried glances from other people waiting for their loved ones to come out of surgery. She must have looked like a mess, dry blood, blood stained hair. “Gold has returned, but where is Blue? He hasn’t returned any of my calls either...You don’t think Paxis has him too do you?”

Allura lowered her head. Everything was a mess, nothing was right. Not since she decided to carry on her father's war against Zarkon after his assassination. She let her mind wander, giving yes or no questions to Coran. She had to be strong.

“If we need to, we can call upon our allies for support…” 

 

**** 

When Keith woke up, he wasn’t in his home, he knew that much. He just couldn’t remember what happened. He pushed himself up and his back cracked, he leaned forward, his body racked in pain. 

The man curled his body into a fetal position, trying to gain his ground around him. His memory was still hazy. The world still spun around him, his ears rang. With slow and steady breaths, he tried pushing himself up again. He moved to his knees, glancing around the room he was in. There was a door, an air vent, blood stained floors and walls, a TV and a web camera with a red steady light attached to it.

“Oh shit…” Keith looked around, his mind still scattered. He tried pushing himself up further, but decided against it when the world started to fall away from him again. It was like he was dreaming. That any moment, he’d wake up on his couch.

A loud pitched noise came from the TV, causing Keith to lean forward and covered his ears. His vision started to go out on him again, as white and black dots danced around him. A hushed “tsking” noise caused the Asian to look up. On the TV, was a man. Keith couldn’t place it, but he saw him somewhere before.

“Oh my, looks like you finally came too. For a moment there, I thought I gave you too much Ketamine.” The mystery man gave a sharp and jaded smile, causing Keith to slowly piece things together. “Don’t move around too much, it still has to work out of your system.”

Keith sat down, crossing his legs and started breath heavy again. Everything was just too much right now. His mind barely bringing about any clear thoughts.

“How lonnnggg ha--have I been out? W-w-where am I? Why am I here?” Keith rested his hand on his head. His violet eyes swam in its drugged state. His speech was slurred. He narrowed his eyes, trying to look threatening. “And who the heellll are you?”

The man laughed, causing more audio problems Keith didn’t want to deal with. It was making him nauseated.

“You honestly don’t remember yet. Oh well, I don’t blame you. You’ve been out for five hours now. Quite a few things happened while you were sleeping...but we will get to that later...You are currently in one of my safehouses. You are here, because I wanted to show you how thankful I am….” The man rested a hand on his face, studying the youth held captive in his room. “And the names Paxis…” 

Keith raised his head up. He remembered that name. It was then things started to come back to him. Keith clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. The memory of the fight came back to him. 

“You drugged me, shot me with a ta-tasser and beat me with a bat. How the hell is...this a way to show someone you are thankful...and thankful for what?” Keith could feel his blood pressure rising. He knew he was still suffering from the side effects of the drug. Keith hated how Paxis watched with such joy, seeing everything come back to the man.

“Thankful because your failure aloud me to live another day…” Paxis watched as Keith gave a sly smile. It was the same one Keith gave him when he was about to slit his throat. All it took, was one bullet to cause the assassin to startle and let him go. “And I wanted to show you what failure means to someone like you.”

“Oh, trust me Paxis, I’ll only fail once and I won’t do it again. I can assure you that when I get out of here, I’m going to give you a smile crossed that turkey neck of yours.” Keith watched as as Paxis didn’t change his expression. It scared Keith knowing all he could really do was talk and nothing more. The red flashing light on the webcam was starting to piss him off.

Paxis started clicking away, bringing up video footage that looked a lot like his apartment complex. With a cool demeanor, the man pressed play, keeping his eyes on Keith, waiting for his reaction.

“I have you know boy. Even one failure can lead to a chain of events that can destroy a movement. Not taking out even the smallest of the small, can lead to things the imagination couldn’t even fathom.” Paxis leaned back in his chair, watching as Keith watched helplessly from his spot. The youth did not move, until he saw someone familiar enter the frame.

Keith’s mouth went dry. His body started to shake as he saw the man tried the door and knock, but it was locked. Shiro moved out of the frame, walking down the hall, only to return with a key. Once again, he tried knocking, but nothing. He then placed the key in and everything went black from the force of a bomb going off. 

Keith’s eyes widened as he saw the man he called brother, be pushed back by a bright force. Nothing more was beyond that roll. In a fit of rage, Keith pushed himself up and ran towards the door, pulling and banging on it. He started screaming and yelling.

“You sonofabitch! I’m going to fucking kill you!” No matter how hard he pulled, the door did not budge. Keith was stuck. He held onto the door handle, letting his body slide out from under him as the drugs started to kick in again, tears streaming down his face. His gaze being pulled towards the flashing webcam. “Why…?”

Paxis let out a chuckle. Amused by his question.

“I’m teaching you a lesson. I’ve done it before, with another one of you Assasin types...She was so fun to play with....” Paxis brought up another video. The girl looked young, maybe 19. She was strapped to a chair, a blanket draped around her legs, her face, beaten and bruised. It was the same room he was in. “Her partner, a Sniper, missed my head. Because of that, I was able to take her and do what I wanted...His failure, lead to her death....”

Keith watched the video, his mind connecting together that this was the agent they lost. Intel didn’t know who took her life or how. All he knew, was that she was found dead. Keith knew his chances of survival were slim as is, but this was a whole new ball game. 

With heavy eyes, he watched as Paxis entered the months old video. He walked towards the girl, pulling her head back so she could look at the camera. Missing teeth, a broken nose and swollen eyes. The look of a broken being. 

The drugs were starting to fade away now, as anger was more prominent. Keith was going to kill this motherfucker. 

In the video, Paxis spoke.

“Come now, smile for the camera. Be a good girl…” The girl moved her hand, with speed, it caught Paxis off guard. In her hands, was a pen she had sharpened to a point. She jammed it deep into the man's hand, he pulled away, knocking “Blue” to the ground. She fell, landing hard. Her blanket fell with her, uncovering what should have been her legs, but were just bloody stumps. 

Keith narrowed his eyes at that. Watching as the girl struggled, reaching for items she had hidden on her. Some items fell when she took a tumble and they scattered from her reach.

Keith scanned the room, searching for the same items. He had hoped there were things Paxis missed. He obviously didn’t clean the room, as the girl's blood was still there. 

It wasn’t long, before Paxis recovered in the video. For him to approach Blue, caused the girl to hastily grab a makeshift weapon and turning it on herself. Jamming the item just under her neck and pulling it out. Blood splattered everywhere. Paxis in the video just started laugh. The laughing soon merged into anger, as he started to kick her and the video ended.

The Paxis in real time, laughed too. His eyes never leaving Keith’s body. The damn webcam still blinking, fading off back to a solid red. 

“Her white knight never came to rescue her. Her dear sweet Lancealot. So I delivered her to him, in pieces mind you...I still have her lovely skull in my collection.” Paxis mused, humming. “I know I shouldn’t have. It’s probably how they found out about me...and sent that hit...Maybe...the Sniper was the same one and took this mission...and he failed to kill me again.” The man laughed, spinning his his chair. “How poetic. Let’s find out if I am right!?”

Keith pulled himself up and walked over to the TV, a plan already thought through. The drugs were still in his system, but he was able to fight it. Keith watched as the man turned on his cell phone, dialing a number. He watched as he placed it on speakerphone and a familiar voice flooded the video feed. The webcam once again, started flashing its red light. 

“Hello?”

Keith held fast, screaming into the video feed.

“BLUE, he has your number! He knows who you are!” Keith just continued to watch as Paxis smiled like he was a cat that caught a bird in his claws. 

The voice that came back, was calm, almost playful. It caused Keith to bite back a smile as he pulled away from the TV. Paxis himself started to worry.

“I know that, but I have his number as well…”

Paxis jumped when the landline phone rang. He jumped out of his chair, dropping Keith’s phone to the ground as it clattered onto the floor. 

“I got you…” The voice rang with a tune fit for a child.

Paxis turned, his eyes gazing up at the ventilation shaft. His jaw dropped.

Blue gave a slight wave, before pulling the trigger. 

One single bullet rang out, hitting the man smack dab in the center of his forehead. The satisfying sound Keith thought he’d never admit he’d come to enjoy, played through the video.

Red fell to the floor, shocked at how quickly the ordeal changed from deadly, to safe in a matter of seconds. Keith watched as the vent cover was kicked off, clattering once it hit the concrete surface. The Sniper jumped down and landed with ease. Keith just watched as Lance took a moment, gazing down at the monster he removed from the world. 

From the webcam feed, Keith looked up at the red blinking light. Morris code flashed with the red light, leaving a message. 

“-.. .. -.. / -... .-.. ..- . / --. . - / .... .. -- ..--..”  
(did blue get him?)

Keith raised his thumb up to the camera and giving a nod.

“Thank’s Pidge...Blue got him.” Keith was happy he caught on to the flashing light, otherwise he would have really lost it. It was nice for him to know he was not alone and that people could find him and had his back. Voltron was the best for a reason. They cared.

The webcam blinked back, leaving Keith unsure how to answer that.

“.- .-. . / -.-- --- ..- / --- -.- .- -.-- ..--..”  
(are you okay?)

 

Lance let out a breath, before making his way over to the locked door. With a twist of the lock, Lance pushed open the door, freeing Keith from his forced imprisonment. 

Blue walked over to Red, glaring down at him with rifle in hand. It made Keith feel like everything was his fault, because it was. Paxis made that clear to him.

“Can you walk?” The question came out cold. It made Keith push himself, not wanting to be anymore of a burden then he already had been to the team. He stood up, catching his breath as he made his way over to Lance. It was the moment, when Keith passed Lance, did he notice that icey glare wasn’t for him. It was for the dry blood stains on the ground and walls.

Keith wondered if Lance saw the video from the ventilation shaft. The Sniper turned his back towards the room, bumping into Keith and pushing him along. 

“We need to download his files off his mainframe….” Blue walked over where Paxis was a mere 10 minutes ago, pulled out a USB Drive and inserted into the slot. He tapped his earpiece. “Blue to Green, Access Granted, Over and Out.”

Keith still was out of it, he still looked lost, things were still out of his control. His breathing hadn’t improved much and neither had his dark thoughts. 

“Shi...Black...how is Black?” Keith watched and Blue stiffened, his expression twisted into a silent rage. It was the same look Lance gave him when Paxis got away the first time. Keith lowered his eyes, the damn drug was making him weak.

“No thanks to you, he almost died. Hell, he still could. ….Oh Shove it Gold.” Lance yelled back over the coms, anger seething in his voice. Keith didn’t blame him, but Keith was getting tired. The combination of exhaustion and drugs made him irritated that he lashed out.

“You are partially to blame too. If only you had killed Paxis when you had the chance with your original partner, we wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

No one saw the back handed slap coming, especially Keith, who fell and slipped into Paxis’s blood. Keith glared up, wanting to fight, but he couldn’t. Blue had the upper hand here. Red hadn’t felt this helpless since he was 9 years old. 

“Don’t you dare….” Lance turned his back towards the man and back towards the computer as the file binged “complete” at him. Lance pulled the USB out and pushed the computer over. He raised his gun and fired into it twice, making it hard for anyone to salvage the files. “Let’s get out of here…”

Keith pushed himself off the slick ground, following Lance back towards the vent. His world still spun around him, having a smack to his face didn’t help matters at all.

“Why can’t we take the door out of here?” It might have been stupid to ask, but Keith still wasn’t all there. For a moment he was afraid Lance would backhand him again. He watched as the Sniper took a breath, controlling his anger. 

“The area is rigged, I was able to disarm the traps in the vents. Just follow my arrows and it will lead you out of here….” Lance pulled himself halfway up the vent and pulled out a large green duffle bag. He slung it over his shoulder and looked at the bloody mess in front of him looking scared. He glanced away, not wanting to feel sorry for someone so pitiful. “I’m going to have to set bombs off…”

Red wasn’t sure, but there was something off with the Blue Sniper. Something was telling him that he should not be alone in here. Not where Mermaid died. With bloody hands, he reached for the straps around Lance’s shoulder and pulled the bag towards him. 

“We...we need to do this together. It will get done faster…” Keith reached his hand in, pulling out the blocks of C4, leaving the bag on the table as he made his away around the room. “You can set the charges as I’m not sober enough to do it…”

Blue’s cold gaze made Red know he was changing the Sniper’s plans. 

“Orders are for you to join with Gold….”

“I’m not leaving without Blue…” Keith placed the C4 on the main door entrance, making his way over to the wall and placing another brick. He continued the process, working in silence. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Lance pull out the charges, making his way around where Keith was, placing the two prongs into the soft putty. Wire’s connecting together, waiting for the lone spark to ignite for its soul purpose to destroy. 

The last room Keith put the C4 in, was the one he was held captive in. The one where the previous Blue had died. He finally looked at the walls, seeing the blood stains on the wall were more than that, it was letters. He hadn’t noticed before because he was preoccupied worrying about his own existence. 

“LLMO?”

Blue joined him in the room, chargers in hand as he walked next to Red. Both looked lost, some what defeated in their own way, their own mistakes. Keith watched as Lance walked passed him and towards the wall, placing his hand on the letters written in dry blood.

“What do they mean?” Keith bit his lip, not sure if he should be standing there. Lance leaned in, resting his forehead on the cold concrete. He closed his eyes, breathing before pulling away. Blue reached for the C4 in Red’s hand, placing it above those words and placed the charges.

“They mean nothing…”Blue swallowed hard, grabbing Red by his wrist and leading him out of the room. Lance made his way back to the green, near empty duffle bag and threw it back up into the ventilation system. He turned back towards Red, his dark blue eyes laid heavy into the others. “Do you need help up?”

Keith nodded, knowing he still hadn’t had his strength, knowing that his back and his shoulders were still sore from the abuse of having a bat taken to it. Lance knelt down, cupping his two hands for Keith to step on his he could lift him up. Keith took the momentum Lance gave him and grabbed the edges of the vent, pulling himself up with Lance pushing him. 

Keith started to lose his breath again, but he fought the urge of hyperventilating. Keith turned around, positioning himself so he could reach a hand down for Blue to grasp. He pulled him up, nearly zapping what little strength Keith had left. 

Blue got up, the look of concern on his face.

“Do you need a moment?” Blue watched as Red shook his head, as if to also clear his head in the process. The look of concern went away to frustration. “Well then move. The more time wasted in here, means the less time we have of escaping the coming explosion.”

Lance adjusted his sniper rifle, as he crawled passed Keith, leaving the drugged out Assassin to crawl behind him, following his path. Keith was pissed. He had no idea Lance had set a timer, he had figured Gold had the codes to set it off.

“What were you thinking? Doing something like that?” Red couldn’t help but speak his mind.

“I was thinking you’d be out of here and I wouldn’t have to worry about dragging your ass out...next time, trust me when I tell you to do something. It would save a lot more problems in the long run instead of charging head first without looking...” Lance sure pegged Keith there. They had only had a handful of missions together and Lance already got Keith’s mindset down. A firecracker.

Keith’s mind wandered back to Shiro and the conversation with the man he had earlier, about valuing Lance’s input, no matter how raw it may be. When it came to Lance, on a mission, he was a professional on the job. When not on the job, Lance was a different person. What kind of person, Keith didn’t know.

Lance smiled when he felt a cool breeze flow into the ventilation shaft, it woke him up, out of his dark thought process. He glanced back, seeing Red was having a hard time moving, but he wasn’t helpless. He pulled himself faster, so he could get out of the tight confines. When he reached the exit, Lance let his feet crunch on the grassy ground. He turned around, reaching his hand in so he could pull out his teammate faster.

The motion caused Keith to stumble. He was not ready to change his position from horizontal to vertical. If it wasn’t for Lance’s body, for Lance’s arms, to steady him and hold him close, he would have fallen.

Keith closed his eyes as his hands clutched onto Lance’s sniper jacket, leaning his head into Lance’s shoulder and swallowing, breathing. Soft hands rested on his shoulders, pulling him away, causing Keith to finally open his eyes and see Lance in front of him. The too Blue sky, the sun shining bright behind him, a soft smile nearly making Keith lose himself again to the drug haze. 

“We can’t stay here. We have 15 minutes…” Lance walked away, pulling Keith along with their hands clasped together. A white van drove in their direction. The driver looked relieved as he saw the two make their way towards him as well.

Gold pulled up, leaving Blue and Red to open the back door and jumping in. Blue patted Gold shoulder, letting the man know it was okay to drive off. 

Red leaned back on the walls of the van, his tired eyes looking out the back tinted windows. Paxis’s safehouse was an abandoned building, away from any busy, developed areas. It didn’t take long before the building shook, flames shooting out and collapsed in on itself. Keith narrowed his eyes and looked at Lance who had his back turned away from him. His mind was screaming that that wasn’t 15 minutes. 

“How did you find me?” Keith asked, not wanting to cause a rise out of Blue if he asked the timer question. 

Gold glanced up at the rear view mirror, bright eyes shining.

“Green was able to locate Paxis’s live feed from her computer and she was able to track the IP address location...Blue here went to the Power Company and found out what safehouse was active on the many possible locations we had on Paxis.” Gold turned his attention back to the road, seeing Keith take it all in. He watched as more thoughts came to the newest member to their team.

“How is Black?” When Red asked Blue, all he got was a nasty conversation. This time he hoped he get a clearer answer from Gold, who had less animosity towards him. Red still saw how both men tense up. Gold let out a heavy sigh.

“He’s in the hospital….he’s still in critical condition, but they have him stabilized....” He glanced back, watching as the new info washed over Keith. “I think it would be best if you went to sleep. We can wake you when we make it to headquarters.”

Keith nodded, not really wanting to fight the call for sleep. He knew he couldn’t do anything beyond what everyone else were already doing. He laid down, letting his eyes close, not wanting the debriefing he was going to be getting. Not wanting to be there. Not wanting tears he knew were welling up inside of him.

He hated the feeling of not being in control. He was not in control of anything anymore. 

****

When Keith woke up, he was in a bed. The heaviness he once felt from the drug, was out of his system. He leaned up, looking around the empty room. He pulled the too clean, too white sheets away from him. He still had his blood stain clothes on, he wanted nothing more than just to get clean, wash away the nightmare he just finally woke up from. He was grateful that there was a shower in the room with him.

He let his naked feet touch the cold tiled ground and he walked, slowly. He held his head, feeling a bit lightheaded, but that was it. His eyes shot forward, when a man stopped at the doorway, startled to see that Keith was awake. 

Lance stood there, in silence, looking at the mess of the man in front of him. In his hands were clean clothes and a towel. He looked down at the ground, not sure what to say.

“Hey...so you're awake…” Lance looked tired, looked small, looked defeated. “Green just got done watching over you and it was my shift and I figured you needed some clean clothes when you woke up…”

Keith swallowed hard, making it painfully aware he was thirsty. He walked over, grabbing the clothes from Lance’s hands.

“What time is it?” There were no windows in this building, no clocks for that matter.

“2:35 in the morning...almost everyone else is asleep or at the hospital….” Lance saw Keith’s eyes well up, the look of hope over his face. Lance bit back his bitterness, forcing a smile as he closed the door behind him. “Don’t worry, Black is stable. He hasn’t woken up yet, but that’s because he’s being sedated. The doctors said it would be best to let his body recover a bit before he woke up…”

Lance let out a tired sigh, he wasn’t going to bruden Keith with the knowledge that Shiro lost his arm in that explosion. Lance turned away to leave Keith alone, letting Keith get the rest he needed. He was slightly shocked when a hand grabbed onto his wrist, pulling him away from the exit. He was at a loss, until he saw Keith’s face. The look in his eyes, made Lance look away as Keith spoke.

“Isn’t this your shift to watch over me?” Keith watched as Lance’s eyes went from lively to dead by the tone in his voice. “I don’t believe you’ll be needed anywhere else but here…”

Lance let himself be pulled along, towards the shower in the room. The clean clothes once in Keith’s hands, fell into a crumpled mess onto the ground along with the towel. 

It wasn’t a surprise for Lance when Keith threw him into the shower, he was just not sure if Keith needed this right now, not with that look in his eyes. Lance silently took off his shirt, as he watched Keith discard his own bloody clothes on the floor. 

Part of Lance knew this was his doing, letting Keith take his frustration out on him. Lance just didn’t think when he put that offer on the table. He didn’t think Keith would so fall so easily for his lie, his half hearted deal that was really just a game. 

His tired blue eyes, glanced over Keith’s naked body. The bruising on his back was still fresh, still raw. Dry blood caked his arms, as he turned on the water, washing the flakes down the drain. 

Lance pulled his pants down, he was just a naked as Keith now. He folded his pants and his underwear, placing them with his shirt. 

The sound of the water, running and draining down, couldn’t distract Keith from the rage in his system. He never knew he’d really take up that offer Lance had given him, but now it seemed the Sniper was right. He needed an outlet for his rage and if fucking Lance quelled it, so be it.

Hand’s wrapped around his chest, Keith leaned back as Lance leaned into his neck, sucking on it, leaving a mark that he was there. Lance’s long fingers traced over Keith’s scars, trailing down to Keith’s abdomen and eventually his member.

Keith bit back a moan, knowing they had to remain silent here. Where people could hear them. He was more sensitive than he’d even been, the drug lingered, causing him to grow more angry with that thought. He didn’t want to think anymore.

Lance was shocked when Keith grabbed his hands, leaving marks in his wrists. The man turned, pushing Lance down, crotch level. Lance looked up, the water raining down on them. The hazy look in Keith’s eyes spoke more than words could ever say.

The Assassin let go of the Sniper's hands, but he watched as his mouth inched closer to his penis. A tongue licked the beads that danced on the edge of the tip. From where Keith was watching, it was too damn hot watching Lance go down on his dick like that. 

Slow and teasing, before letting his mouth engulf the raging erection. Lance started a slow sucking motion, bobbing his head and positioning his tongue for Keith’s maximum pleasure. With his hands, he squeezed Keith’s balls, causing Keith to pull his head back, losing his breath in a silent cry. 

Lance pulled away, gagging by the sudden shock of having cum shoot down his throat. He was coughing, trying to clear out his throat. The saltiness of it all attacked his senses, he swallowed. It stung, even with the water washing away the evidence. 

Hands pulled at his hair, pulling him up and shoving him against the title. He hadn’t recovered yet, but Keith wouldn’t allow him. The water rained down on them as Keith bit down on Lance’s shoulder blades. It angered him at this moment that Lance was taller than him. When they were on the bed, Keith could claim every inch, but here, here was a different story. 

Lance pushed back from the tile, giving him some space so Keith could gain easier access. He clenched his fists, ready for the pain he knew was coming. 

Lance’s eyes shot open as Keith rammed into him, causing Lance to take his hand and cover his mouth from the shock of it. He didn’t need to be screaming at a time like this. Keith didn’t allow Lance to recover, as he forced himself in again, leaving Lance to bite back more cries. 

The Sniper leaned his forehead on his forearm that held onto the shower support, as the Assassin dug his hands into his hips, pounding into him nonstop. Fresh blood streamed down Lance’s legs, causing the Sniper to close his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see it. The pain couldn’t match the full feeling he was getting. The pleasure. 

Keith slammed his penis in, watching as Lance let out silent grunts with each motion. His eyes closed, water flowing down his eyes like tears. Keith leaned in, biting Lance’s back, humping him in a messy rythme. Keith, for the second time, cummed without warning, letting his hot seed mix with the blood. 

Keith pulled out, leaving Lance to fall slowly to the ground, as his support was gone. Lance’s body wanted more, it craved for more. With dazed eyes, he glanced up at Keith, who looked tired. The water washing him clean.

It was then, Keith walked out of the shower, leaving Lance unfinished with the water pouring down on him. He left the shower room, entering the room with the too white sheets. He picked up the towel and started drying his hair and body, ignoring the other man he left behind.

He could hear the water being shut off and slow movements has Keith picked up the clothes Lance had given him. They were black boxers and sweatpants, a black tank top that was free flowing.

He dressed, letting Lance take his time to crawl out of the shower. He gave a lazy smile, when he saw the man with damp hair and his clothes sticking to his body. Lance shot him a blank stare before speaking, his face unreadable.

“Feel better now?” Lance limped away from the bathroom door, grateful he wore black pants that day, otherwise people would have seen blood.

Keith gave a smile, better wasn’t the word for what he was feeling. The assassin sat on his bed, looking as the Sniper held his abused body close.

“I will feel better when you leave.” Keith covered his face with the towel, letting the material pick up the lose water droplets that still clung to his hair. He heard the door click open and close just as silent. Keith let the towel fall on his shoulders. His eyes lingered on the door, before his body fell down onto the bed. Keith could feel the call of sleep again. It was welcoming. 

In his final moments of awareness, was the girl in the video. He didn’t know why. 

****

Lance forced himself to walk straight, fighting the pain in his ass, both literal and figurative. He was pissed, he was hurt and he couldn’t even show it till he got out of there. Part of him wanted to go back to Keith and be an ass, but another part of him didn’t want to put the energy into it. 

“Lance, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be watching Keith….” Coran walked down the hallway, he was just as tired as everyone else. The old man watched as the youth stifled a groan.

“Hey Coran. Keith woke up and told me I could leave….How’s Shiro doing?” Lance moved to the wall, letting that support his weight. Coran joined him, having nothing else to do in that moment.

“Allura is still with him. She hasn’t left his side since he was allowed visitors. I don’t think Shiro is aware yet of his condition...Have you told Keith yet?”

Lance scratched the back of his scalp, getting nervous at that.

“Not exactly in full detail….I was afraid Keith wouldn’t have…” Lance didn’t know how to answer that. He didn’t want Keith to have any more guilt than he already had. “Not taken the news well...So…”

Coran nodded, understanding where Lance was coming from. The senior member lowered his head, shrugging towards Lance.

“And you, how are you doing. This must just be as taxing on you as well...considering….”  
Lance gave Coran a cold glance, the old man now knowing he was getting into some thin ice with the boy. “I don’t want you to watch any more of that footage we found Lance. No matter how much you want too…” 

“How long have you known that it was Paxis who killed Mermaid…” Lance crossed his arms, his gaze sharp and cold. Watching every move the redhead was making.

Coran gave a nervous laugh, knowing if Lance wanted it, he’d be a dead man.

“I’ve known for months now...setting it up so I could let you have your revenge…I just didn’t count on a hot head nearly getting his head shot off...” He was nervous how the Sniper would act. 

“Coran you sly son of a bitch, I have so much respect for you right now…” The smile Lance gave him was honest and true. Whatever darkness that lingered, seemed to go in that moment. “You were just looking out for me. Thank you…”

The old man looked away at that, doubt still on his mind.

“My actions...ended up doing more harm than good. Paxis wouldn’t have even been on our radar if I hadn’t searched for him…because of me Keith was compromised, Shiro’s in the shape he is in now.” Coran closed his eyes, tired from the events that would ripple for a long time to come. “I don’t know what Shiro will think when he finds out…”

Lance got up, hiding his pain from the other man. He rested a strong grip on the older man’s shoulder.

“Shiro isn’t going to hate you. He knew the risks when he joined, like everyone else here. We can die any moment, we just can’t let that get to us when we…lose people...” Lance started making his way towards the exit. “Let’s not think about the people we lost...let's think about the people we saved and will be saving in the future…”

Coran seemed to relax at that.

“Thank you Lance. You have a good night...well I guess a good morning anyway...gotta rest up for the fun debriefing in a few days…” Lance’s voice matched that of Coran’s exact thoughts.

“Well that’s gonna be fun….” Lance waved goodbye, placing his hands in his pockets while leaving. “See you in a few days…”

Coran nodded, happy to have someone to talk to and somewhat understand the whole situation. Still the guilt was there, no matter what words were said.

****

Allura sat by Shiro’s bed. The sun’s warm rays just breaking through the window pane, causing the man in bed to sturr. Allura put down the mission report she was reading and leaned forward. 

“Takashi...can you hear me?” Allura rested her hands on Shiro’s remaining one. She gave him a slight smile, as his eyes slowly fluttered open. His face was bandaged, but he could still see. He gave a weak smile. Tears started to well up at her eyelids, her crystal blues shined.

“Hey…sunshine...” He let out a raspy voice. “What... happened?” Shiro looked around, his head still ringing, his head still felt fuzzy. He glanced at Allura, a goofy smile on his face. “I must be on some good drugs because I don’t know what the hell is going on.”

Allura lowered her head, not sure of what to say.

“I don’t want you to worry... Keith is okay. He’s not hurt…” Allura watched as Shiro’s dazed face changed. He tried not to panic. “There was an explosion Shiro. You got hurt…”

Shiro leaned his head back, letting that all sink in. He closed his eyes, relaxing as much as he could. His mind was still blown by what he was hearing.

“I’m so not here right now to hear this…” He flexed his feet, letting the thought that he could still walk made him somewhat relieved. He squeezed his hands, well, just his left hand. He could feel Allura squeeze back. Shiro took a deep breath, before opening his eyes. He looked up at the ceiling, letting that realization wash over him. “I can’t feel my right arm…” 

Allura looked away, still not sure what to say. Normally she would be straight face, apologetic or cold. Not this time. This time it was someone she knew, someone she cared for and cared for her. Shiro moved his hand away from hers, leaving Allura to clench on to the white hospital sheets. 

Shiro reached his left hand out to Allura’s face, raising it up. He cupped it smiling, letting her know that everything was okay. Allura moved her hands up to hold his and just let her tears fall down her dark skin. Her smile chased away any fear Shiro had.

“As long as you are still smiling, I’m okay...”

**** 

Hunk knocked on the door of Lance’s apartment. He waited, rocking back and forth on the heels of his feet, hands behind his back. The door cracked open, leaving a zombie like Lance to glare at the big man.

“Your lucky I like you, otherwise I would have shot you…” Lance closed the door, unbolting it and leaving it open for Hunk to walk in. Hunk raised a concerned eye, watching as Lance limped away from him and towards the kitchen table, where Lance was eating at. 

“What happened to you? You weren’t limping yesterday?” Hunk watched as Lance sat down, rather slow, and started shoving food in his face as he stared up with his story.

“I slipped in the shower last night when I got home...My hip is just killing me…” Lance kinda told the truth, he did get hurt in the shower. “I’ll heal up in no time. Got to, next mission won’t allow us to rest. Got to make up for everyone else’s slack.” 

Hunk walked over to the counter, grabbing a toaster and some bread. 

“About that...Team Voltron is on leave for awhile.” Hunk couldn’t help but smile as Lance let out an annoying groan. “Honestly Lance...Money isn’t everything.”

Lance put his fork down, laughing and showing off his whole place.

“Hunk, what do you think pays for this lovely apartment here? I have 10 years left to pay it off and it’s mine.” Lance watched as Hunk’s toast popped up, leaving the man to pull it out and come sit at the table with him. “Besides, I love getting pampered and that stuff isn’t cheap.”

“Wow, Lance...just wow…” Hunk snorted a laugh, biting into his food. He gave a heavy sigh, letting Lance know he was going to change the subject. “ Well, Black is awake...and aware…”

Lance let those words wash over him. He suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore.

“Is he allowed any visitors?” Lance looked away from Hunk, causing his friend to have an idea what Lance was thinking about. “I was rude to him at the last meeting...and the stuff I said before that…”

“So now you want to apologize?” Hunk let out a laugh, causing Lance to lean back in his chair and crossed his arms. Hunk wiped away a tear from laughing so hard. “Oh man, next time I piss you off, I’ll just have a near death experience…”

Hunk didn’t finish his sentence. The look Lance gave him, silenced any playful thought Hunk had. The man returned to eating his toast as Lance got up and away from the table.

“I’m going to go get dressed. I’ll be out in a bit…” Lance limped away, leaving the strong man to lower his head.

“Smooth move Hunk. There you go with your big dumb mouth…” Hunk held his hands in his head. No amount of movie nights was going to fix this nightmare.

****

Keith cracked his knuckled as the waited in the hospital waiting room. His legs crossed, one foot tapping on the floor. His arms crossed, one finger tapping on his arm. The glares he sent off when told he had to wait till noon to see his brother. Keith was just pissed Allura could lie and say “I’m his wife” but Keith can’t go in there and say “I’m his brother” in the same way. His mood only soured when he heard an obnoxious voice echo in the hallways. 

Mother fucking Lance McClain, showing up in some rich fashionable clothing that seemed to fit his every curve. Keith just had to keep his mouth shut, otherwise his jaw would have dropped to the ground. Hunk wasn’t too far behind, looking rather casual and less showy. It made Keith feel less like a bum showing up in blue jeans and a t-shirt. 

“Hey Keith, how are you feeling?” Hunk asked, sitting down next to him. The Gold Agent looked Keith up and down, seeing anger just below the surface.

“I’m doing just fine. They told me I had to wait like everyone else…” Keith stopped his tapping and glanced over at Lance, who had a package in his hands. “What’s in the box?” 

Lance was not in the mood to talk to Keith at the moment, not after the shit he pulled the early in the morning. He wouldn’t be walking proper for a week, let alone do anything else proper as well.

“A “sorry you got blown up” gift for Shiro. The man likes history, so I got him a book on Egypt.” Lance waved it, letting the the book bounce freely in the box. Keith blinked, taken a bit back how Lance was so thoughtful at that. Lance caught that and broke into a sly smile. “Did you honestly not get him anything?”

Hunk covered his face with one hand, already seeing a fight happening between the two. Keith was ready to bite the bait Lance had set. 

“Come on guys, yesterday you two were super chill.” Hunk cut the air with both hands. “Like can we not!”

Lance let out a sigh, grateful for the big lug in the room. Keith looked away, feeling stupid for being so childish. If it wasn’t for the nurse that walked in, the trio might have had a hoedown. 

“You can see him now, he’s in room 205.” The cute nurse smiled at the three, who all acted on their best behavior. Once she left, did Keith and Hunk stand up to make their way over to the room. Lance lagged behind a bit, causing Keith to smile.

“Huh, I wonder what happened to him…” He said it under his breath, only for Hunk to answer.

“He slipped in the shower.” Hunk said it so innocently, Keith had to bite his cheek otherwise he would have broke out into a fit of laughter. 

Lance narrowed his eyes, Keith was playing along just fine, but damn it, keeping a secret is going to be hard if the fucker took pride in something like this. Lance swallowed his pain and sped up his pace, catching up to both of them.

“Keith, a moment.” Lance asked, leaving Hunk to raise an eyebrow. He was starting to notice something. What, he wasn’t sure. 

Keith stopped, only because he wanted to know what smart mouthed thing Lance would say. What he didn’t expect, was for Lance to hand him the box. Keith took it, not to sure by this action. Hunk relaxed a bit, now knowing Lance was trying to make peacemaker.

“I didn’t tell you everything about Black last night because I was worried for you…” Hunk’s head snapped up, as did Keith’s. Hunk started eyeing Keith. Did he not know about Shiro’s arm. “With everything that happened, I wanted to tell you when your mind was clear…”

Keith just looked lost. His mouth dry. His mind running wild. Hunk rested a hand on Keith, knocking him out of his silent shock.

“How bad is he…” Keith held onto to box, letting his eyes waver. Lance ran a hand through his hair while looking over at Hunk.

“He lost his right arm...but other than that, he’s okay. There’s going to be therapy, but I think we knew that was a given…” Lance looked away, sighing. “I just thought you should know before you saw him…”

Keith turned away, with box in hand. He didn’t say anything, just walked in silence. Hunk watched as Keith left the two of them alone, before quickly glaring at Lance. Things were starting to click.

“You didn’t fall in the shower... did you…” Hunk crossed his arms, watching as Lance gave him a shy smile. That was all Hunk needed to know. “I can’t believe you...Jeez…”

“Yeah, about that. Please don’t share that. It’s nothing serious….” Lance started walking, only for Hunk to grip his arm. Lance glared at Hunk, pulling his arm away. “Drop it.”

“I will not drop it Lance. What happens if he gets hurt or worse? It will be like Mermaid all over again…” Hunk felt a chill run down his spine. “I can’t see you fall apart like that again…”

“It won’t be like that Hunk. I don’t love Keith, I put up with him for the team.” Lance laughed at that thought. “If there’s still a team after this...Can we talk about this later...” 

Lance started walking, as fast as he could so he didn’t have to hear Hunk’s lecture. Hunk reached his hand out to stop Lance, but he pulled back. Lance was right, this wasn’t a place to talk about in the open. Hunk clenched his teeth and moved on.

***

Shiro sat up, a cup of jello resting on the table. He glared at it, swearing it was mocking him as it jiggled. A knock on the door, took his attention away and he quickly answered.

“It’s open.” Shiro cheered up when he saw Keith walking in. He just wished Keith had the same cheerful expression, not the look of a guilty man. “Hey...I’m glad you are here.”

Keith walked in, holding the box close to his chest. He couldn’t look directly at him. He didn’t want to see the damage. He only looked when Shiro demanded his attention.

“Keith, look at me. I’m alright…” Shiro’s voice was strict, causing the younger man’s head to snap up. It was then, Keith took it all in. “Now are you alright?”

Shiro, face bandaged. His right arm, a stump. His left arm having too many wires attached to his damaged body. Here he was, asking if he was alright.

“I’m fine…” He walked towards the bed, leaving the box on Shiro’s lap. The man was surprised, not expecting a gift. Keith grabbed a chair and sat down close to Shiro.

“You didn’t have to get me anything Keith...but thank you…” Shiro opened the box, easily lifting it with one hand. Inside was a book lined with gold and multiple colored gems. Both Shiro and Keith looked at it in awe. “I take it back, I’m glad you got this...Where did you get this?”

Keith relaxed, watching as Shiro pushed the box off the bed and and resting the book on his lap. He opened it up and inside was a book so decorative, it was a work of art. Keith could not believe Lance shook the box like that. Shiro quickly blushed, closing the book and placing it on his bedside.

“Sorry about that...I’ve been looking for that book for ages…” Shiro placed his left hand in his lap and looked at Keith. His eyes not wavering from Keith’s unstable ones. “When we have time, I need you to tell me what happened...Allura won’t tell me…”

Keith looked around, wondering why he hadn’t seen her yet.

“Where is Allura any way? I thought she’d be here with you…” Keith watched as Shiro let out a sharp laugh, but stopped quickly because it hurt for him to laugh.

“Apparently she got some locations on a few important Galra leaders. She’s out testing a new drone as we speak.” Shiro leaned back, laughing took a lot out of him. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be awake...sorry…”

“Stop saying you're sorry…” Keith blurted out. “I should be the one saying sorry for…”

Shiro was going to stop Keith from talking, but the hospital door opening beat him to it. Lance, Hunk and Pidge all walked in. They came in quiet, for the sake of Shiro’s ears.

“Hey Black, good to see you. If you ever need a “hand” let me know.” Lance cracked that joke out so well, the mass of death glares he received didn’t faze him at all. “What? Too soon.”

Pidge quickly elbowed Lance in the stomach, making the man bend forward in pain. She quickly made her way over to Shiro, placing a small box in his lap. Shiro smiled, letting out a small laugh.

“Thank you Pidge….” Shiro glanced at the other two, expecting a gifts as well, but both men ended up whistling empty handed. He rolled his eyes, little bit let down that he wasn’t going to get any more spoiled. He opened the box and looked at it, confused. It was a glass vial with ash in it. “Thank you Pidge...but what is it?” 

The girl smiled, laughing a bit.

“It’s your right arm, or what’s left of it anyways. The medical staff wouldn’t let me pickle it, but they let me cremate it.” Pidge was just so thrilled that Shiro couldn’t even comprehend on what to say towards her and her unique gift. “Thank...You?”

“Oh come one, I crack a joke about a hand. How is that bad tast…” Lance quickly shut up when Hunk pulled his ear. 

“It’s very thoughtful, Don’t you think Lance?” Hunk quickly let go, leaving Keith to snicker at that. Shiro gave a smile, seeing Keith letting go like that, even if it was a small laugh. 

Shiro felt the pull of sleep calling at him, leaving Hunk to do what was wise.

“Well, I think it’s best to let the wounded man sleep. Shiro, if you don’t mind.” Hunk bowed his head. “I think it's best if we go…”

Shiro nodded, before letting his eyes close.

“I’m sorry...But these are some good drugs, I really wouldn’t make good company right now anyways…” The four watched at who quickly Shiro went under, his soft breathing fading away to slight snores. 

Lance saw his opening and quickly made his way out of the room, knowing Hunk couldn’t move as fast and silent as the Sniper could. Hunk gritted his teeth, trying to grab the man, but he was gone. 

Pidge and Keith turned to see what the commotion was about, leaving Hunk to blush in silence. Keith stood up, leaving Shiro to his slumber, before following Hunk and Pidge out of the room. The woman smiled, letting her heartbeat return to normal.

“I’m glad Shiro is doing so well...I was worried he might not be the same…” Pidge was speaking what everyone else was thinking. She then glanced up at Keith, smiling. “I’m glad you're okay too….I don’t know if Lance told you yet, but I watched over you for awhile you were out…”

Keith nodded, relaxing in her presence.

“Thank you Pidge. For everything. If it wasn’t for your morse code, I wouldn’t have been so calm in that room…” Keith watch as she lit up. 

“Well, I need to go. Coran got a new Tank today and I’m going to get a tour of it!” She waved goodbye, before heading down the hallway and out of sight.

Keith quickly felt burning eyes glaring into him. He looked at Hunk, giving him an unamused look.

“What?” Keith asked with a hint of annoyance. To his shock, Hunk grabbed his shoulder and started pulling him along. Keith kept his mouth shut, not wanting to let Hunk know his grip was really hurting him. “Would you mind telling me what this is about?”

“You and Lance. This is what it's about.” Hunk whispered it out, causing Keith’s mind to fall to an “oh shit” moment. 

Once Hunk felt like that he wouldn’t be interrupted, he let go of Keith’s arm and pointed a finger at him.

“When did this start and who started it.” Hunk said it so sharp, Keith was a bit taken back by it, but he fought that shocked look and just narrowed his eyes.

“What’s it to you? We are both adults. Why do you even care?” Keith was so not wanting this conversation. He now knew why Lance had made a hasty exit. “Besides, there’s nothing there between us. It’s just sex and nothing more.”

“You don’t hurt people during sex like that Keith…” Hunk was angry. Keith could see it. Hunk took a deep breath, stopping himself from spilling out his emotions.

“You honestly think if Lance didn’t want it, he’d allow me to do it? I know he’s using me like I’m using him….” Keith watched as Hunk lowered his head. “So mind your damn business.” 

Keith was fuming mad. He was thinking about taking this incident out on Lance later if he found him. It wasn’t long before Hunk spoke.

“You're right, I’m sorry...It’s not my place…” Hunk calmed down, looking away from Keith. “Lance is my friend and I just worry about him…”

Keith placed his hands in his pockets. Keith didn’t blame Hunk there. If his friend was being hurt, he’d probably be defensive too. 

“Sorry for snapping at you. It's just been a long two days….” It was then Keith remembered the room he was in. The one with words written on the wall with blood and Lance resting his head on it. “I have a question...if you answer it, this whole thing can be water under the bridge…”

“What is it?” Hunk wasn’t sure what Keith was going to ask, but he slowly nodded.

“What does “LLMO” mean?” Keith had never seen a grown man change so quickly with emotions. Whatever those letters were, it was something that was still very raw.

“Where did you hear about that?” Hunk was praying, he knew what those words meant. Who they were meant for.

“They were words written in blood at Paxis’s hideout. Mermaid wrote them…” Keith watched as the words he spoke, made Hunk looked more worried. 

“You know about Mermaid huh...Lance’s old partner…” Hunk waited, thinking over his words. When he found the right ones, he swallowed hard. “Live, Love, Move On. That’s what LLMO stands for. It’s not my place to say anymore beyond that...”

Keith froze. His heart stopped, For some reason, hearing those words, finding out what they meant, caused Keith to regret what happened that morning. 

Lance looked so small then. So empty. So alone. He was just as lost as Keith was in that moment. What Keith did was take that state Lance was in and just shoved him into the shower because he was angry. After what he did, how he treated Lance.

Now Keith didn’t know what to think. 

“Thank you for telling me...Now if you don’t mind...I need to go.” He glanced back and Hunk, who had the look on his face that he may have said too much. He left Hunk there as quickly as he could. 

He needed to get away. To where, Keith didn’t know.

****

Lance woke up with a start. Someone was knocking on his door at an ungodly hour. He glanced over at his alarm clock, upset it was only 11:45 pm. 

“Will this day ever fucking end.” Lance yawned, walking out of his bedroom before yelling. “I’ll be right there!”

He slowly walked, before falling onto the door. He threw his chained latch on, before opening the door. He half expect to see Hunk, not Keith. Lance dug his nails into the door.

“Oh, what are you doing here?” Lance gave him a slutty smile. “Are you here for round two? I have to admit, its nice to have you knocking instead of breaking and entering...but I think we both know how you just love to do that…”

Keith lowered his head, causing Lance to narrow his eyes. He’s seen that look, that's the look one gets when they just got a “Jiminy Cricketed” from Hunk.

“I wanted to say sorry for what I did to you this morning...I was angry and I took it out on you in the worst way possible…” Keith watched as Lance just stared at him, his dark blues growing colder with each syllable he spoke. So when Lance smiled, Keith couldn’t figure out what was so wrong with it.

“You don’t need to be sorry Keith. That was part of the deal remember. No strings Honestly, I rather have it that way. All physical...none of that emotional bull shit…” Lance leaned on the door, peering out at Keith, who was starting to regret he even came. “So, offer still stands…”

Keith just stood there, not believe what he was hearing. It was trying Lance’s patients. With a heavy sigh, Lance shut the door and unbolted it, leaving it slightly open. Lance looked out one last time and spoke.

“If you don’t want to, it’s your choice. I can always find someone else to fuck me…” Lance moved away from the door, leaving Keith alone in the hallway. 

Keith just clenched his fist. Everything around him was spinning again. He was losing control again. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if he was still under the effects of that damn drug. Everything stopped the moment he heard Lance’s voice talk to someone over the phone. 

“Hey Nathan, you busy tonight?”

And Keith snapped. 

The Sniper jumped when the Assassin walked in, slamming the front door behind him.

“Nevermind...something came up…” Lance lowered his cell and turned it off. His eyes still cold, still firing bullets at Keith’s heart. “What? You didn’t honestly think you were the only one?”

Keith was pissed, but he was in control enough to know Lance was bluffing. At least, he had hoped he was. 

Lance placed his cell on the table and walked the best he could over to Keith. He let his hands rest on Keith’s chest, interested in Keith’s silence. Lance wanted to push him, make it known to Keith. There was nothing more in this arrangement.

“You're nothing special to me. Just another warm body in my bed.” Lance wanted to push him out, push him away. This was the only way he knew how. Be vile, be mean. 

It pissed Keith off that he had to look up at Lance. It pissed him off that that smile was still there. It pissed him off that he didn’t know anything about the Sniper at all. It pissed him off that Keith was easily playable.

But he could play back too.

Lance squinted in pain as Keith grabbed his wrists and squeezed. Keith pulled his hands down, making Lance lower himself slightly so Keith could attack his neck with his too sharp teeth. Lance let out a hiss when Keith drew blood.

Keith pushed, forcing Lance to bend to Keith’s will. 

Lance winched in pain again. His body was still not healed as much as he hoped it would be. He knew that and yet he didn’t care. He didn’t mind the pain, it made him forget about everything else. Anyone else.

“Bedroom.” Keith demanded, still ravishing Lance’s body. He could tell Lance was shaking as the man pulled away, leading Keith to the familiar room he was once in. He was being dragged along, his mind thinking, calculating. 

Lance pulled him, dragging him away from the door, out of the kitchen, to his bedroom. He felt a rush when Keith tossed him on the bed. Lance let out a laugh from the thrill of it. His body bounced, leaving him not ready for Keith’s heavy body to pin him down.

Keith straddle Lance, ripping the man’s shirt off, snapping all his buttons. Leaving his chest for Keith’s taking. Keith was biting, sucking and digging his nails into Lance’s tanned skin. 

Keith pushed himself up, grabbing his belt and taking it off, giving Lance time to recover. His face was flushed, his breathing rushed, his heart pounding as Keith looked down at the man under him. With a smile, he grabbed Lance's hands again and held them together as he bound his wrists with his belt. 

Taking the belt, Keith looped it around the headboard of Lance’s bed and pulled, making sure it wouldn’t budge. That painfully became aware to Lance as he tugged on it, giving Keith a satisfied smile.

The look of panic came across Lance’s face, because he was not in control at all. The little game he was playing was suddenly getting out of his hands.

“Kinda kinky, don’t you think?” He gave a sly smile, trying to force Keith into exploring more. Just Keith wasn’t taking the bait.

The man got up off of Lance, leaving him bound to the bed. Lance was starting to get angry, yanking at the belt that bound him. It didn’t budge. 

Keith sat at the edge of the bed, letting his high fall down back to normal levels. He leaned on his elbows and looked at Lance, who was starting to click things together. He gave Lance a smile fit for a devil.

“Keith, think about what you are doing…” Lance threatened. Keith knew it was an empty threat, but part of him was still scared by the bite in it. Lance kept pulling at the material that bound him. 

“You won’t get out of that so easily. It’s Kevlar.” Keith stood up, smiling at Lance. Leaving the man fuming. “And trust me on this Lance, I am thinking about it. You wanted to be fucked, so I’m fucking with you.”

Lance dug his nails into his palms, drawing blood. He did not see this coming at all. He did not see Keith leaving him there for that matter either. He had been played.

“Keith...Don’t you dare walk through that door...Keith…” Lance growled at the man as he made his way to the door. Keith stopped, leaning on the doorframe, smiling.

“I’m going to crash on the couch. You just rest up and relax. I’ll see you in the morning and see where we can go from there....” Keith walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Lance’s curses being silenced behind him. Keith let out a laugh, knowing that Lance’s room was sound proof made him wonder how loud Lance could get.

Keith walked around Lance’s apartment, letting his his eyes explore the area in the light. It was clean, organised, everything had its place. He made his way over to the couch, not wanting to explore any further in fear he’d see something he didn’t like. 

He crawled on it, letting the cushion take his weight before crashing face first into it. It was soft, warm and smelt like Lance. Keith sighed, letting sleep start to nip at his body. He turned his head, his eyes falling onto the coffee table. 

There was a book there. A photo album. Keith knew better not to pry, he knew better not to look, but he was going to do so anyway. He pushed himself up, much to his back’s protest, sitting and reaching for the object.

He opened the cover to see the first page and he stopped. It was a picture of Lance and a girl. Her face was familiar to Keith, it was the same girl he saw in the video. Just in this picture, she was alive, she was clean, she was happy and so was Lance.

Keith traced the photo with his fingers. The faces he saw, was something not everyone could achieve in their whole lifetime. Somehow, Lance and his Mermaid, were able to find it. A love so deep, it transcended from one photo into Keith’s heart.

Keith imagined Mermaid, alone in that room. Taking her blood and giving Lance one last goodbye. Giving her permission for Lance to move on. Letting him know that she had loved him, even as her fate was sealed. 

That was a love Keith knew he would never know and it made him jealous. Jealous of a dead girl he never knew. He closed the book, not wanting to look any further of memories that were not his. He placed the book back, in the spot he found it in. 

Keith laid back down, grabbing a throw pillow and covered his head with it. The last thing he thought about before drifting off to sleep, was Lance having one last moment with Mermaid in a blood covered room. Those four letters burning into his eyelids.

“LLMO”

And Keith was lost to the Blue.

End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want more, let me know.


End file.
